Fight cross-border tax crimes or risk global instability,

By Chinwendu Obienyi

Chairman, Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Dr. Zacch Adedeji, has charged world leaders to urgently confront the menace of cross-border economic crimes, warning that tax evasion, profit shifting, transfer pricing and illicit financial flows are eroding national revenues and destabilising global economies.

Adedeji delivered the charge on Monday at the 42nd Cambridge International Symposium on Economic Crime (CIDOEC), held at the University of Cambridge, United Kingdom, a forum that has for more than four decades shaped international strategies against financial crimes.

Represented by Professor Bolaji Owasanoye, Coordinating Director of Proceeds of Crime Management and Illicit Financial Flows at FIRS and former ICPC chairman, Adedeji told the gathering of over 1,000 participants from more than 100 countries that unchecked tax crimes were undermining governments’ ability to fund development.

“Cross-border tax crimes distort fair competition because compliant companies pay a higher cost for business and appear less profitable,” Adedeji said.

“In a global economy where capital can move faster than law enforcement, and where digital and legal arbitrage often outpace regulation, the fight against cross-border economic crime is, by necessity, both local and global, both urgent and pressing.”

The FIRS Chairman warned that corporations and individuals exploiting global trade and financial loopholes were implicated in serious economic crimes.

“When companies engage in abusive transfer pricing and manipulate intra-group transactions between subsidiaries in different countries to shift profits to low-tax jurisdictions, they are engaged in cross-border tax crimes,” he declared.

Adedeji also highlighted reforms under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, describing them as decisive steps to safeguard fiscal sovereignty.

“The President inherited not just fiscal challenges but a system under siege by economic crimes — from fuel subsidy abuse to illicit financial flows and complex money laundering schemes. The four landmark tax reform bills signed on June 26, 2025, modernise our tax laws, enhance transparency, strengthen enforcement, and align Nigeria with global best practices,” he said.

Adedeji further revealed that FIRS, set to be renamed the Nigeria Revenue Service in January 2026, is transforming into a fiscal crime prevention and intelligence organisation at the heart of Nigeria’s economic security.

He explained that the Service had deployed cutting-edge technology — including tax data automation, AI-driven anomaly detection, e-invoicing, and a National Tax Data Warehouse — to strengthen compliance and detect evasion before it takes root.

“By applying big data analytics and machine learning, we can now forecast revenues, spot risks, and detect tax evasion patterns before they take root. This makes our tax administration predictive rather than reactive,” Adedeji stressed.

The FIRS boss reaffirmed Nigeria’s commitment to global cooperation, noting that no country can fight financial crimes in isolation.